AFTER ACTION/CORRECTIVE ACTION (AA/CA) REPORT SURVEY TEMPLATE
AFTER ACTION REPORT SURVEY TEMPLATE
LPHG SIMULATED EARTHQUAKE DISASTER RESPONSE
GENERAL INFORMATION
Information Needed
Details
Name of Organization:
LPHG
Type of Organization:
Medium-sized 501(c)(3) charitable foundation
Region:
(Coastal, Inland, or Southern)
Coastal region in Berkeley, California, United States
Completed by:
Date report completed:
Type of event, training, or exercise: (actual event, table top, functional or full-scale exercise, pre-identified planned event, training, seminar, workshop, drill, game, etc.)
Simulated disaster response
Summary of the Disaster:
There was an earthquake registering 7.8 on the Richter scale. It lasted approximately 30 seconds to 1 minute for the primary quake. The subsequent aftershocks were of varying strengths for the next 96 hours. There were also floods and fires that persisted for several weeks. The resulting deaths for the company were 31. One LPHG staff member died as a result of contracting the H1Z1 virus. Half the buildings and infrastructure were destroyed and LPHG’s research and development of EFHG, and the planned release to market, will have to be delayed during the recovery process. Additionally, communication, transportation, and medical emergency services are expected be stressed passed the breaking point for approximately six to eight weeks until the federal government’s resources can be mobilized.
DRP Documents: (e.g., disaster recovery plan, backup plans etc.) Include specific details about the documents, including completeness.
E: storage for universal staff documents, CD images and media.
F: staff home directories with Volume Shadow Services (VSS) enabled.
G: Bulk Mounts with VSS enabled for shared projects.
H: Special bulk mounts with VSS disabled and limited backup retention.
Post-Disaster Response Summary:
At the scene, one of the committee members took notes on the incident, including how many people were injured and what kind of additional help they might need. Phone calls were immediately placed to each entity listed in the disaster recovery plan, including the primary and alternate sites to work from after the disaster. They discovered their disaster preparedness plan was not nearly as detailed as it should have been because they were at a loss on how to proceed. They had no way of contacting their employees, as almost everything in the building was destroyed by the earthquake. After locating the business impact analysis, they discovered that it had not been filled out. That put them in a predicament, since they were not sure what the impact of the disaster would be on the business. The good news is that all their data was protected.
Strengths of Disaster Response EVALUATION
Strength #1: Availability of disaster recovery plan (DRP)
Strength Details:
Summary of Strength:
The plan outlined the procedures to be followed in case of a disaster. It enabled one of the committee members to set up a command system. The Disaster Recovery Plan had listed primary and secondary alternate sites to work from incase of a disaster. The company therefore, made calls to these sites so as to help in the recovery process.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
The Disaster Recovery Plan enabled the company to know exactly what to do and in which order. The plan acted as a point or reference to the company. The management was aware of what exactly they were supposed to do. Therefore, this enabled the recovery process to run smoothly.
Policies
The policy of having a Disaster Recovery Plan in the company proved to be helpful. This is because it made sure the company had something on which to base their recovery process. There of no ambiguity of processes.
Documents
The Disaster Recovery Plan document itself was very helpful in making sure that the company knows its way forward in the disaster recovery process.
Positive Consequences:
The availability of the Disaster Recovery Plan made sure that the company was able to recover from the disaster smoothly. The plan gave details on the function of each individual in the organization and therefore, eliminated confusion as everyone could refer to the plan and know what he or she is supposed to do. Also, the company was able to start the process immediately. Without this plan, the company would have to sit down and plan on how it was going to go about the recovery process. This would have taken valuable time. Also, the plan may have been up to the standards as it would have to be made in a hurry.
Ways to Improve:
To improve on the Disaster Recovery Plan, the organization should make sure that the plan is available to every member of the committee so that it’s not only one member who has it. In this case everyone will know what he or she is supposed to do instead of waiting instructions from one member. Therefore, this means that the recovery process will be hastened.
Strength #2:
Strength Details: Availability of backed data
Summary of Strength:
All the data was available. Immediate restores was available for storage for universal staff documents, CD images and media (F), Staff home directories with Volume Shadow Services (VSS) enabled (F) and bulk mounts with VSS enabled for shared projects (G). This meant that no important information about the company’s research and development of EFGH was lost and soon after, the company would continue with its processes.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
The plan to have data backed up in different locations made sure that the company did not lose its vital data and information when they were faced with the disaster. It worked well as the company was able to recover all information on the research and development of EFGH.
Policies
The Backup and Restoration policy made that all the data were backed at as frequently and therefore, when the disaster struck, it made sure that all the data had been backed up and therefore, available for restoration. The policy also laid down the procedures for restoration and therefore, the data restoration process was carried out quickly and smoothly without delays.
Documents
The Backup and Recovery Policy document laid down where each and every data was backed up, the frequency of backups and the process to be followed when restoring data. This was helpful as it made sure that all the data was backed up and consequently restored after the disaster. Therefore, the document proved to very vital in the recovery process of the company.
Positive Consequences:
Due to the availability of all the data, the company was able to recover its data instead of starting from scratch. The company’s research and development of EFHG, and the planned release to market, were only delayed during the recovery process as all the data was available. Without such data, the company would have to begin afresh. This would take up a lot of resources and time. It would further delay the time required to release the product into the market. Further expenses would lead into losses since the company had already lost due to the earthquake.
Ways to Improve:
The companies should consider having their servers in multiple locations. This is because if a disaster struck in one location and destroys the server, the company can still be able to recover the data. This is particularly important since, the company’s current location is prone to earthquakes. Therefore, it should consider backing up the data outside of Berkeley. This will reduce the likelihood of both servers being destroyed by a single event at the same time.
Strength #3:
Strength Details: Availability of Disaster Preparedness Plan.
Summary of Strength:
The disaster preparedness plan indicates the as well as the secondary crisis manager. It provides their contact telephone numbers, alternate telephone numbers as well as their email addresses. It also lists the people who would participate in an emergency planning and crisis management. It further gives the primary as well as secondary sites for the company’s information resources i.e. the building, street address, the zip codes as well as the telephone numbers. It also lays down the procedure for communicating with the staff as well as users in case of a disaster. Finally, it provides the external people to be notified in case of a disaster.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
The disaster preparedness plan is very helpful to the company by as it lays down the who is in charge of the crisis to hence removing uncertainty on who should take charge in case of a disaster. It also gives the location of the company information resources so as they are located in case of a disaster. Since it gives information on who should be notified in case of a disaster, The company is able to get emergency services immediately.
Policies
The company’s has a policy to always keep an up-to date Disaster Preparedness Plan, this is helpful because having an outdated Disaster Preparedness Plan will imply that the if a disaster strikes, the person listed in the plan may not be still a member of that company. The contact details may also have changed by it difficult to contact the required person.
Documents
The Disaster Preparedness Plan document is stored at an off-site location meaning in case of a disaster at the company’s premises; the plan will not be destroyed at all.
Positive Consequences:
The availability of the Disaster Preparedness Plan means that the company is able to respond to a disaster quickly. It tells those involved, who should be in charge in case of a disaster and how to contact them, the location of company resources and how to notify the staff. It also helps the company to know who to contact for emergency services. This increases the response time and in turn limit the amount of loss that is incurred during a disaster.
Ways to Improve:
The Disaster Preparedness Plan is kept at primary crisis manager’s house. This is a disadvantage because if this manager is not available at the time of the disaster then there will be no plan. Therefore, the document should be kept at multiple locations to make sure that it is available at any time if any disaster occurs.
Areas for Improvement of Disaster Response EVALUATION
Area for Improvement #1: Poor Storage of Employee Records
Area for Improvement Details:
Summary of Area for Improvement:
The records on the employee’s details were stored at the premises. Almost everything, including the employee records, was destroyed by the earthquake. They were at loss on how to proceed. They had to figure out on where to find a list of employee names, addresses, and phone numbers among others. Therefore, this meant that the notification process was delayed. Also, they were not able to fight out how each of their employees was affected by the earthquake as it had hit the whole city. This means that their employees had been affected by the earthquake too.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
Having a record of employee’s details was a good idea. The only failure keeping all those details in one place. This meant that when the earthquake struck and destroyed the documents, there was no backed plan. Therefore, the company needed to have a backup plan on where to obtain the details in case of a disaster.
Policies
The company lacked the required policies that would enable the documents to be available when the disaster happened. One of the policies that would have helped the company would have to ensure that an updated list of employee details should be maintained in multiple locations at any given point in time.
Documents
The company had a document on employee’s details. This was very import only that the document was not well stored and that is why it got destroyed by the earthquake making it unable for the company to contact them.
Consequences:
The consequence of poor storage of the employee records document is that the company had no way of contacting its staff so as to inform them what was going on and also to find out how they had been affected by the earthquake. Since some of the company’s staff were killed by the earthquake, the company needs to contact their families and find out the burial arrangements. This is because the company has a moral obligation to help its employees in case of such strategies. They had to figure out another way to contact them and therefore, delaying the recovery process. Delaying the recovery process negatively impacts on the company as it means that the more the process is delayed the more damage is done.
Ways to Improve:
The company should make sure that the up to date documents that contains the employees record is kept in multiple places both on and off site. In future, if there is a disaster and one document is destroyed, the company will be able to retrieve the other documents. This will ensure that there will be little if not any delay in the recovery process. It is advisable to keep a copy of such documents away from the city although it should be a place that can be easily be contacted in case of an emergency.
Area for Improvement #2:
Area for Improvement Details: Fill out the business impact analysis form
Summary of Area for Improvement:
After the disaster, the company needed to know what the impact of the disaster would be on the business. Therefore, they located the business impact analysis document. They discovered that the document had not been filled out. This put the company in a predicament. This is because they were not sure what the impact of the disaster would be on the business.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
The company had poor planning. This is why the document was never filled out. If the company had planned well, then the company should have the entire document filled out.
Policies
The company’s policies failed. This is because the company had not assigned anyone the responsibility of making sure that the document was filled out and that is why they only discovered that the document was not filled out after the disaster had occurred.
Documents
The Business Impact plan document had been left blank. This meant that it had no use as it didn’t help the business in any way. Such document is very important though and it was a big mistake to leave it blank.
Consequences:
Not having the Business Impact Analysis document filled out meant that the company was unable to know what the impact of the disaster will have on the business. The company did not know if the resulting damage was severe or catastrophic. It was important to know the impact so as to know how to proceed in the recovery process.
Ways to Improve:
The management should come up with policies that make sure that the filling of such document is not a responsibility of a single person. Every document should be reviewed often to make sure that every detail has been filled out on the document.
Area for Improvement #3:
Area for Improvement Details: Fill out the rest of the Disaster Preparedness Plan
Summary of Area for Improvement:
The Disaster Preparedness Plan is not completely filled out.
The critical services, the administrators of these services, and the location of the business impact analysis and backup and recovery policy for each service are left blank. The vender contact information is a well left blank. Therefore, the company was not able to contact the vendors immediately the after the disaster.
Contributing Factors:
Plans
Ineffective plans. The company should make plans on how it is going to obtain the required information and when to fill the information in this document. Since the company failed to plan effective, that is how it ended up with a blank document.
Policies
The policies put in place was not enough. Enough policies should make sure that every document is up to date and available at any time. This was not the case for this company.
Documents
The Disaster preparedness document was incomplete and that is why the company did not have all the required information needed after the disaster.
Consequences:
Since the Disaster Preparedness Plan was not entirely filled out, the company was unsure on who to contact for the critical services. This leads to further deliberations on should be contacted and in the process wasting time. also, the company did not have vendor information. The consequence is that the system may not be restored to its original state since the company may end up using a vendor that did not initially design some of the systems.
Ways to Improve:
The management should assign individuals in the organization that should be in charge in reviewing the documents on the disaster preparedness. This will make sure that all the information will be available in case of a future disaster.
